Dark Season 1 Review: Everything Is Connected

After watching the first two episodes of "Dark" I was seriously addicted. See my previous review here What began as a whodunnit quickly turns into something quite different. Things are not as they seem in the small town of Winden, Germany. There are secrets galore.

It's hard to describe this show without getting into HEAVY spoilers. I'll do my best but if you havent seen "Dark" at all, it is wisest to turn back now. There are several basic themes. Dead birds fall from the sky. Lights flicker intermittently. It rains a lot. The caves and the power plant seem to hold the keys to everything. Four children are missing-- Mads Nielsen (33 years ago), Erik Opendorf, Mikkel Nielsen and Yasin. There are four interconnected families (see members below). Three time periods are spanned-- 2019, 1986 and 1953 (and are each 33 years apart).

The four families are:

The Kahwalds:

Michael- the show begins with a man committing suicide. More on him later.
Hannah- his wife. She is secretly having an affair with Ulrich Nielsen.
Jonas- their son. He was in a mental hospital after his father's death. They told everyone he was in France. He's BFFs with Bartosz but has a thing for Martha Nielsen (who is currently Bartosz's girlfriend).
Ines- Michael's mother. Unbeknownst to the others, she has Michael's suicide letter.

The Nielsens:

Ulrich- missing Mad's older brother. He is a police officer.
Katarina- his wife. She is the high school principal. They have three children.
Mangus- the oldest. He hooks up with Franziska Doppler.
Martha- she is dating Bartosz but has a thing for Jonas.
Mikkel- the youngest child, he disappears in episode 1.
Janna and Tronte- Ulrich's parents
Agnes- Tronte's mother who moves with him to Winden in 1953. She rents a room at the Tidermann mansion (which later becomes a hotel) and becomes fast friends with Egon's wife.

The Dopplers:

Charlotte- head of the police and Ulrich's boss
Peter- her husband and Jonas' therapist.
Franziska- teenage daughter
Elisabeth- younger daughter, she is deaf
Helge- Peter's father who is now in a nursing home suffering from dementia. He previously worked at the power plant. Helge has a mutilated ear. That will be important later.
Bernd- Helge's father, he constructed the power plant.
Greta- Bernd's wife. She is a cruel woman who never wanted Helge.

The Tiedermanns:

Regina- hotel manager (owner?) and Bartosz's mother
Aleksander- Regina's husband and head of the nuclear power plant in 2019.
Bartosz- bestie with Jonas and dating Martha
Claudia- Regina's mother. She was the first female head of the power plant. She had an affair with Ulrich's father Tronte many years ago.
Egon- Claudia's father, he is a police officer in 1986.
Doris- Egon's wife. She leaves him at some point-- possibly for Agnes (Tronte's mother).

"Everything is connected" is a phrase used throughout the show. This means not only the town folk are all connected but also the three time periods (1953, 1986 and 2019). Past, present and future all continually influencing each other. There is talk of free will versus predestination. Are the various agents (Helge, Noah, the Stranger, Claudia, HG) working for God or the Devil or just making it up as they go along? Who can be trusted?

The Stranger visits HG Tannhaus (a watchmaker) to fix his time machine. However HG already has the same machine (just a younger version). He apparently got the blueprints from Claudia. HG later writes a book called "Journey Through Time".

There is a room with what looks like an electric chair in the bunker outside Peter's cabin. Helge and Noah are experimenting on young boys. Remember, the dead had their eyes burned out and their eardrums ruptured. Thirty three sheep suffer the same fate back in 1953. What's that about?

The Stranger says "I've seen the future. Things have to be set right and you have to help me." It still remains to be seen as to if anything can be actually be changed or we're preordained to continue on the same path over and over again.

Grade: 5 Monsters (out of 5). Excellent! This story makes my head hurt (but in a good way). "Dark" is a "mystery box" show in which there are several actual mystery boxes. You may need to view multiple times in order not to miss anything. It is quite complicated.

Some have complained about "Dark's" music but I found it a great addition to the show. I may even purchase the soundtrack.

"Dark" is being marked as the next "Stranger Things". Yes I see the similarities but "Dark" is actually closer to "The Returned". The mythology is as intricate and the mysteries as great. I just hope we get a season 2 because I have LOTS of questions after the finale.